The Badminton Europe History Working Group met in Copenhagen in November to discuss the activities which shall mark the 50th Anniversary of Badminton Europe Confederation in 2017. The Confederation was founded as European Badminton Union (EBU) on 24th September 1967 by 11 European Federations. 

The 11 European Federations were: Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic and Slovakia), Denmark, England, Finland, F. R. Germany (Germany unified in 1990), Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

Mr. H.P.Kunz of Switzerland was the first President to be elected and he was joined by H. Brohl from Germany and Stellan Mohlin from Sweden. The three persons committee worked hard to ensure that European badminton get a good start and develop gracefully by time. It was without a doubt that they achieved numerous milestones for the organization. 

To top that, Stellan Mohlin later became the President of EBU and was honored to take the role of the President of the International Badminton Federation (1976-1981), today known as Badminton World Federation.

The Badminton Europe History Working Group which took place last week was chaired by the BEC Vice-President, João Matos. The members of the working group consist of:  

•  Torsten Berg (Former President, 1992-2004)

•  Tom Bacher (Former President, 2004-2010)

•  Gisela Hoffmann (Former General Secretary, 1986-2003)

•  Horst Kullnigg (Former Director for Finance, 1986-2008) 

Pic from L-R: Horst, Gisela, João and Torsten. Absentee: Tom

The conversation and discussions during the meeting was mainly around recent badminton stories and also memories that goes back longer in time.  It is important to look back and see where we began as the roots of the organization is where it all started – 48 years ago.

A long day of fruitful meetings ended with a delightful dinner in Grøften, the traditional and famous restaurant in Tivoli, at the heart of Copenhagen. 

To read more about Badminton Europe Confederation, click here